a town of Ireland, county of Kildare, 18 miles S.W. of Dublin. It consists of a main street and several smaller ones, and is not very well built. It has a parish church, a Roman Catholic, and an Independent chapel; a market-house, court-house, prison, barracks, hospital, dispensary, and several schools. Some remains are still to be seen of an ancient palace, which was the residence of the kings of Leinster, and in the neighbourhood there is a mound, or rath, of Danish origin. The name of the town, which signifies "The Place of Elders," has arisen from the circumstance that the states of Leinster used to meet here in the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries. Naas is inferior in prosperity to many other towns in Ireland not so advantageously situated, and has been for some time in a declining state. A small trade is carried on in grain, provisions, and poultry. The county assizes are held here in spring, and at Athy in summer. Pop. (1851) 2971.